JAKARTA - The French national team became the first team to qualify for the last 16 of the Qatar 2022 World Cup. This made Les Bleus break the curse of the defending champion.
Please note, at the previous three World Cups, the defending champion always fell in the group stage. Starting Italy, the 2006 World Cup champion who was eliminated in the early rounds of 2010.
Then there was Spain who were eliminated in the early stages of the 2014 World Cup after winning the previous edition. Meanwhile, Germany was kicked out of the 2018 World Cup group stage after winning in 2014.
France finally broke the chain of curses. "I have to thank everyone who told me about this," said Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps, as quoted by Antara via AFP, Sunday, November 27, 2022.
πππΌππππππΏ π₯ Heading for the last 1οΈβ£6οΈβ£ of the World Cup π«π· #FiersdetreBleus #FRADEN pic.twitter.com/hbLOLQyTaR
β French Team ββ (@FrenchTeam) November 26, 2022
There was concern that France would suffer the same fate. Moreover, their squad was eroded by a number of pillar players who were injured.
However, Deschamps never felt worried. He said his team had never been carried away and remained focused on the game.
"What we've done so far is very good. There is a prominent collective force, and you can see that on the pitch," said Deschamps.
"We will need that again later," he concluded.
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